Strupki (etiuda literacko-dermatologiczna)
Scabs: A Literary-Dermatological Study

Summary/Abstract: This essay is devoted to the titular “scabs” – wounds usually associated with childhood, the effects of minor injuries, mainly to the knees and elbows, sustained while playing. These are unique wounds, associated more with joy than with pain. In Polish, “scab” [strupek] is a diminutive form of the word “corpse” [trup], which is awe-inspiring and disgusting. Such a combination of the delicacy of grammatical diminutive with the aesthetics of deadly decay is surprising. That is why this word is used carefully in Polish, and it is an act of courage to place it in a title of a novel. This risk was taken by Paulina Jóźwik in her prose debut (2019), a story about the maturation of a young woman, where the symbolism of the titular Scabs (Strupki) reflects the bitter-sweet experience of the family home.

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